Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 338 | Ryan Patterson on the Physics of Neutrinos
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Dec 8, 2025 
Ryan Patterson, an experimental neutrino physicist and Professor at Caltech, dives into the fascinating world of neutrinos. He explains their unique properties, why they can't be dark matter, and how they influence cosmic structure. Patterson discusses the groundbreaking DUNE experiment, revealing how neutrinos oscillate and why mass is crucial. He also shares insights on the challenges of detecting elusive cosmic neutrinos and the implications of CP violation for understanding the universe's matter-antimatter imbalance. A riveting exploration of the subatomic realm!
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Neutrinos Are Ubiquitous And Weakly Interacting
- Neutrinos interact only via the weak force, so they pass through matter almost unaffected.
- They are extremely numerous, second only to photons, with ~100,000 in a coffee cup at any moment.
Choosing Neutrinos By PhD Timing
- Ryan Patterson chose neutrino experiments because timing allowed full involvement from construction to analysis.
- He spent long periods studying practical detector details like light propagation in mineral oil.
Three Leptonic Families Linked By Weak Force
- Leptons come in three families: electron, muon, tau and each has its own associated neutrino.
- Family structure reflects how the weak force links paired particles and allows interconversion.